Assignments

All assignments are due on time; I accept no late papers or late
quizzes. Please note that
without an officially documented medical emergency, there will be no make-up
exams or incompletes. To obtain this document in an alternative format and request accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Coordinator, 770-961-3719,
disabilityservices@mail.clayton.edu

Completion and submission of all assignments are your own responsibility.
Your active participation and willingness to keep pace with all assignments are essential
to your success in the course.

Attendance & Participation (30%)

Attendance and Participation are mandatory. See the
Grades
page for details.

Quizzes & Exams (45%)

We will have short weekly quizzes on your readings and films throughout the semester.

The midterm exam and final (cumulative) exams will consist of clip-analysis,
short answer, and/or
essay questions.
No blue books are needed, but always bring two pens for
in-class exams and quizzes.

Group Presentation (25%)

Students in groups of two or three will present their
research on a selected French New Wave director. During the first week of class,you will sign up for the director for whom you will be responsible.

It is important that your research, your presentation, and
your handout be prepared **together as a group** since this is a GROUP project.
Group partners who do not do their share of the work are subject to receive a
grade of F for this project.

Step 1: Conduct Your Research & Expand Proposal

Before you and your group partners give your presentation,
you will all research your chosen director thoroughly so that you may present
your material with confidence.

Films

Screen as many films by your director as you can so that
you are well versed in his/her oeuvre. You need not purchase these, though you
may if you like; many are available in our library, via Netflix, etc. I recommend screening these films together as a group
and discussing them afterward.

Scholarly Research

Then consult and cite a minimum of THREE scholarlysources.
These will include scholarly books, anthologies, reputable film encyclopedias
(try especially The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers by St. James Press, PN1997.8 .I58 2000 Vol.1-Vol.4), and articles from
professional journals like Film Quarterly, Cahiers du cinéma, Film
Comment, etc.; they may NOT include internet sites or popular press sources
like Variety, Premiere, Internet sources, casual film encyclopedias (by
Maltin, Ebert) etc. If you choose to consult
these popular sources, you must list their bibliographical information as well,
of course, but you must have studied three credible, scholarly sources in
addition to these pop sources.

Your textbooks do count as scholarly sources--and you
should certainly first read those sections about your director thoroughly--but
you must consult three other scholarly sources too.

To find these scholarly sources, search in GALILEO rather
than Google or other web search engines. Try multiple searches available through
the Humanities databases, via subject categories like "Film, Music, and the
Performing Arts." These subjects will link you with database indexes like the
Arts & Humanities Index, MLA Bibliography, Film Literature Index, etc. If you
use general databases like ProQuest, be sure to select a search consisting of
scholarly articles only. Also, you will find many of sources listed in the
bibliography and/or "further reading" sections of your textbooks.

All the books you will need are available via Interlibrary
Loan, GIL Express, and by visiting other libraries at Georgia State, Emory, etc.,
but these take time so don't delay.

Step 2: Submit Your PowerPoint/Outline

Your group's PowerPoint slides (preferred) and/or a one-page, written outline of your presentaion's key points is due the week before your
presentation, uploaded to the D2L Assignments folder. (See schedule for due date.) This
should outline your presentation's main points, arguments, your selected images/film clips, etc.

Be careful not to duplicate material (e.g., readings and films) scheduled to be
covered in class; instead, you are introducing the director and their majojr works/contributions.

List in MLA format your bibliographical sources on this
outline as well.

IMPORTANT: Do NOT copy and paste information from the
Internet for your outline or bibliography; that is plagiarism and NOT the goal for this
assignment. Such superficial research does not qualitatively expand your
knowledge of the material or mine. You may start researching your ideas on the
web, but your written outline--and certainly your presentation--must do much
more than simply rephrase or repeat information available on the Internet.

Refer to the
Comments Guide to understand my editorial marks on your returned papers.

Step 3: Present Your Research, Handout, & Annotated
Bibliography

Your group will present your research to the class during a 10-15 minute presentation including visual images, film clips, etc. of
your studied director's work, and questions from your classmates.

Presentation

The presentation should:

Cover basic biographical information (brief--just 1-2
minutes)

Include directors/films that have influenced and inspired
him/her (2 minutes)

Describe the stylistic and innovative qualities of
his/her key films/writings with film clips (5 minutes)

Be prepared to answer questions from your classmates at the end (2-5 minutes)

For your presentation format, I encourage you to be
creative. Use various media to create a learning environment that
conveys and supports your research findings. You must use film clips, of course, and a
PowerPoint for film/audio clips, visual still
images, etc.

IMPORTANT: You should research & present all of your
material *together* as a group; think of this project as a singular
presentation rather than as separate panelists each presenting one segment
they researched alone. And be sure to practice your presentation in advance at
least twice so that you cover your material but do not run over time.

Handout

On this day, you should provide everyone in the class with
a one-page handout about your selected director (double-sided is fine). I encourage you to be
creative, concise, and thorough on this handout, summarizing highlights about
your director's biographical and artistic life as well as places that your
classmates might look to find more information on your director
themselves (if applicable). Be sure to include a few visuals on
this handout as well. In short, your handout:

Praises at least two points AND critiques at least
two points about their style/body of work

Lists your reference sources in proper bibliographic
format

Be sure to make enough photocopies for all of your
classmates & your professor.

Annotated Bibliography

An annotated bibliography in MLA format is also due the
day of your presentation. (See schedule for due
date.) This should detail each research source with a short paragraph of annotation
for each describing the major ideas of the author and the usefulness of the work
for your research.

Groups will be graded on the following criteria:

1) Thoroughness of your
research of your selected artist

2) Creativity of the
presentation and support materials

3) Organization and clarity
of the presentation

4) Quality of the handout's
clarity, organization, & bibliography

5) Teamwork and effort
(Again, that means researching and presenting all of your material *together* as
a singular presentation rather than as separate panelists each presenting one
segment they researched alone.)

Step 4: Self, Peer, & Group Evaluation

Groups will also be graded in light of your individually
written answers to the following questions, due the class meeting AFTER your
presentation:

1) What you would change/improve if you had the opportunity to
do your presentation over again?

2) What's a fair letter grade for your
personal contributions to this presentation?

3) Write two or more sentences assessing the contributions of
each of your group's other members toward the preparation, process, and
production of the presentation. Assign a letter grade for each based on this.